Sorry! Here is the other pic!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:32979}}

I'll just make a generic comment about getting where you want to go.

If the redbud (or other tree) is being planted to help provide shade for the deck, bite the bullet and buy a large specimen, and also site it correctly for the shade pattern needed. The one you have will take 5 or more years to provide any shelter, plus I can't tell if it's in the right spot for the sun. Shop nearby tree farms for some of the more common species that should be affordable.

My point is, no one will care about the attractiveness of the surrounding plantings if it's too hot and sunny to be out there, and all of the perennials and things can be gotten very cheaply in small sizes and will grow fast in a southern exposure, and you can also get easy color cheaply from some annuals, so put your first $$ in comfort and function. It's not uncommon for someone to say, oh, I can't afford to pay $1-200 for a tree" ( of course you can buy even larger ones for more $$), but then to spend the same amount on a lot of small plants and knick-knacks.

Or maybe this concept is being addressed by an umbrella or trellis, but do give it some thought.

I like the bed near the patio though and can see it, not so much as cottage but more sun-loving perennials. I'd put in the trifecta of a sun garden: shasta daisies, black-eyed susans, and purple coneflower. Your Karl Foerster grasses will complement these, along with some nice sedums, perhaps(I like the new bonbon variety for its dark color).

The redbud seems out of place there, actually. I love redbud trees but that seems more like a flower bed, with maybe a small shrub or small tree...not something like the redbud. Maybe use the redbud to anchor the long bed...put it on the outside of the walk however...with enough room away from the house to grow.

For the long walk, I'd go with a standard recipe of foundation plants....nothing stunning or remarkable needs to be there since it doesn't seem like a place where people will linger or that needs attention drawn to it.

I would like to add several comments about these design ideas. I have been doing this for a while for my last two houses, my mother in laws, and my parents yards as well and have learned that the main reason to spend the duckets on the bigger trees is more than just a functionality issue. You want to be able to plant your perrenials based off of what the actual sun requirments will be. If you plant your small tree and then try to plant your perennials one of two things will happen:
1) you will be selecting perennials based off of future shade provided by the tree, that shade wont be there for years to come and your perennials wont make it.
2) you will be selecting your perennials based off of current shade/sun and 3 years from now you will be moving your perennials due to not enough sun for blooms.

Now that i am off that soap box.. ill get on this one :)

I would push the redbud out to the edge of your mulch line closer to the woods, then it would create a nice spot for a shaded garden (if the tree was relatively mature) in the next couple of years... I would then put in some Hosta's against the trunk , and some lily turf along the patio. They are cheap and grow big and you can split each spring to replant extras until you have a nice line of foliage along your patio. Just my two cents.

I don't have a problem with the redbud. There is another reason to plant it other than shade and my guess is that it is the reason the OP has. That is to make the patio a separate comfortable space of its own. It also does the same for the deck. Sometimes plants are more a media to create something rather than the plants being the primary subject.

It will eventually need pruning maintenance and it will put the bed below it in a transition from sun to shade over the years, but I don't know too many folks who do not revamp small areas if not their entire landscape (if they have a nice landscape) every few years anyway.

Yes, it would limit the transition to use a bigger tree now, but we all have to make copromises based on our individual balance of values in regard to aesthetics, budget, time line, and maintenance.

However, all the above points are things that should be considered when we apply our values. Hopefully, the OP thought about these and applied the values that are right for her.

It is sort of like a clothing. We dress ourselves somewhat for privacy, somewhat for protection from the elements, somewhat to fit into a style to fit in, and somewhat to please ourselves. Then we choose the details of that clothing somewhat by seeing something that looks really good on the rack or on someone else, somewhat based on what we know looks good on us, and somewhat by the context of where we are going to wear them. There are a ton of different perspectives and different values that go into the decision making.

Madona can go to the same function as my octogenerian mother. Both can make the right decisions on how they dress themselves, but I seriously doubt the two would look the same or that either would want to wear what the other has on.

It is no different in landscape design.

laag, you're right, I was lumping shade and enclosure together, and they're 2 separate things (or can be). The trees seen at the edge of the photo might, if tall and full, provide good shade at certain times of day, but they're not going to provide a sense of intimacy. So, I still don't completely have a grasp of the sun and shade patterns on this property, but would be influenced by that if it were mine.

Also, pruning means different things to different people and different plants--limbing up is one thing and can work for a tree whose trunk is near the patio or deck edge but can still form a canopy overhaning, as opposed to weird cutting back of branches.